Collapsible shield



W. A. FRASER. QOLLAPSIBLE sumo. APPLICAfION FILED SEPT. 13. 191.8- 1

1 ,385,37 1 Patented July 26, 1921.

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\ COLLAPSIBLE SHIELD.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 13, I918.

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W. A. ,FRASER. COLLAPS|BLE SHIELD.

7 APPLICATION FILED SEI? T. 1-3, 1918. I 1 3 5 371 Patented July 26,1921.

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W. A. FRASER.

COLLAPSIBLE SHIELD.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 13, 1918.

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[UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM A. or nnooxnnyn, ms snciarusn'rrs.

GOLLAPSIBLE 1SHIELD.

To'wllwlwmt't'mayconcern: I a v Be it known that I, WILLI- AM A. FR sni:i of Brookline, in the county of Norfolk an State of Massachusetts, have-invented a new and ,useful Collapsible Shield, of which the V v following is'a"specification.

. My invention relates principally to shields for military purposes and espec1ally -to shields'for the breast. v One object of my invent on 1s to provide a shield which, when not in use, 1scollaps1- ble into very compact form, this compactness. being a very important characteristic of my shield. Another object is to provide a shield which is' eXtremely light but"wh1ch is at the same time preferably bullet proof and bayonet proof. y

A feature of my invention CODSlStSlIl constructing 'my shieldof a plurality'of members, each being slidably mounted on the p adjacent member.

' Another feature consists in having the joints between adjacent members entirely modification;

- form; and

covered at the front:- so that no opening is available for penetration, whether by a bayonet orbullet, or otherwlse.

Another feature"consists 1n having the guiding portions of adjacent members out of line so thatthe easy sliding nto collap'slble formis not interfered with.

:Other features will be pointed out below. ,-In the-drawings- Figure 1 is a front elevation of a. shield extended and embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the same in positionon the user;

Fig. 3 Is a rear elevation of said shleld extended;

Fi .4 is a rear elevation of the central mem er and of the members at one 'SldB'Of the shield, the members bemg se rated;

' Fig. 5 is a front elevation of t e members 1 shown in Fig: 4;"

Fig. 6 is a section on line 6-6 of Fig. 3 but on a larger scale;

Fig: v7 's a similar *sectlon but showing ""i the members in the position of actual use Fig. 8 is a section on line 8-8 of '8'; Fig. 9-is arear elevation of the. shield in collapsed form;

Fig. 10 is apartial front elevation-of a '.-Fig. 11 is a partial section of saidmodification;

' j Fig; 12 is a. front elevation-of another Specification of Iietters mat.-

allel and theslits. being part 01'. At the other 'elite of said rib the I V I3- is a side elevation ofthe form of F i g 12. g 9 he central member of my shield has'a central reinforcing rib a1 and a portion at 60 one side bent into outer orfrontparta and inner part a the latter having guidingfslits a and a, said parts being substantially parprotected by the .ing bent substantially parall and the part 7o j 6 having portiontb partially cut out. so that 'it may be bent up and passed through slit (1 and then its ends I) and b are bent substan tlally parallel with part m the shank part b of portion 1) art Z with relation to part a thus providing relative sliding movement which is limited; by the ends of slit a. Similarly'portion 6 cooperates with slit at. These joints are completely covered at the front by part so a. The part b has slits b and b to coiipcrate with partiallycut out portions (2 and i d of the outer. part 01, of'the next member ,whose innerpa'rt d. is slifited at d and d to receive partially cut outportions-c and e 5 of the next member andso on, the joint of j v the inner part of any member. beingcompletely covered by the outer part of thatmember. Thls oimng feature is partially,

although sufliciently,.illus'trated in Fig'. 8 111,90

which the slit f receives partially cut out 'portion and slit 9. receives partially cut out port1on h of theend membergthe latter having perforatlons or slits 71. and 71, to receive the ends of elasticcloth strap'k which isprovided with a metal loop 70' connected to a hook k which engages ring is, the latter being slmilarly connected to similar straps/l,- and In, the ends of strap k 'passing overthe users shoulders and being connected to the central member at the slits is and is and the. endsof strap I0 passing around,

the users side and engaging the slits k ,and J0", thus furnishing aqmck means of fasten ing my shield in place and providing-for yielding movement and'providing also that.

the rin k may move about if necessary. All t e members are preferably of bullet proof metal and .I out away the inner parts "as-at Z in order to make the whole shield very... 11 0 -'light in weight, this,cutting awaymot inter-i; fermg n any .way with the required Patented July 2c, 1921. I Application filed septeniber jlfi, 1918. Serial No. 253,878.

actlng inv slit a to guide 75 readily packed for trans strength. I preferably make the center the" opening in member d left by cut-out.

portion (1.

"The series of members at the left of the center member in Fig. 3 are reversed but otherwise are the same as the series consisting of members b, (5 e 7, g and 719.

When the shield is to be collapsed the two series of side members are rapidly slid in toward the center of the device until they occupy the osition shown in Fig. 9 forming an extreme y compact structure and one ortation either by itself or in quantities. n Fig. 11 I show a modification in which the two parts m and m of the center member are hinged together at 'm and in this form one collapsed half of the shield at one side of the hinge may be folded over against the other colla sed half making the whole colla sed shiel half as wide as in the form of ig. 9 but twice as thick.

In Fig. 12 I show a shield embodying my invention adapted to rest upon the ground and having a plurality of members slidably connected as before described, each of the end members having riveted to it a springleg n which legs support the shield as shown in Fig. 13, and when not in use are held close to the shield by spring catches n n. This form is particularly adapted for machine gun work, the projectile passing through aperture n, and the shield being preferab y made of bullet and bayonet proof material as above described.

One important feature of my that it will fit a man of any size.

shield is Another important advantage is that, as shown in Fig. 7, when the shield is in use, the projectile will be efliciently deflected by reason of the convex form of the front of the shield,

the latter being preferably curved when in use for such deflection and to fit the body of the user.

Still another advantage is that the straps may be wound around the shield to hold it in collapsed form.

What I claim is:

1. A shield comprising a plurality of substantially flat members, adjacent members being movably joined together, the joint permitting expansion and collapse of said members crosswise of the wearer, and permitting said members to be parallel when collapsed but permitttin them to be out of parallelism when the evice is expanded 'members bein tions cooperating to form a sliding joint between such adjacent members, the joint permitting expansion and collapse of said members crosswise of the wearer and permittin said members to be parallel when collapse but permitting them to be out of parallelism when the device is expanded and the outer ends are pulled inwardly toward the wearer.

3. A shield comprising a plurality of members, each member having an outer shielding part and an inner part connected to the outer part, the inner part having slidable connection with the outer part of the adjacent member said connection permitting expansion and collapse of said members.

4. A shield comprising a plurality of members each member having an outer shielding part and an inner part having a swinging connection with the outer part, adjacent members being movably joined together to permit expansion and collapse of the device and said swin 'ng connection permitting said members to a parallel when collapsed but permitting them to be out of parallelism when the device is expanded and the outer ends are pulled inwardly toward the wearer.

5. A shield comprising a plurality of members each having an outer and an inner part and "each member being movably joined to the adjacent member by said inner part, said joint being covered by said outer part.

6. A shield'comprising a center member having an outer part and two inner parts, each of said inner parts being slidably connected to one of a series of members and said connections being covered by said outer part, each of said series comprising a plurality of members, adjacent members of said plurality being slidably connected to each other, and said last-mentioned connections being entirely covered by outer parts of the members of said serles.

7. A shield comprisin a plurality of members, each member diaving an outer shielding part and an integral inner part having a swinging connection with the outer part, the outer part of one member and the inner part of an adjacent member being formed, one with a slit and the other with an integral headed shank, to providea sliding connection to permit expansion and collapse of the device and said swinging connection permitting said members to be parallel when collapsed but permitting them to be out of parallelism when the device is expanded and the outer ends are pulled inwardly toward the wearer.

8. A shield comprising a plurality of members, each formed of substantially parallel parts joined at the edge toward the center of the shield and open at the opposite edge,dadjacent members being slidably connecte 9. A shield comprising a plurality of members, adjacent members being slidably connected and the connection between any one member and the member adjacent it at one side being out of line with the connection between said one member and the member adjacent to it at the other side, said connection permitting rectilineal movement crosswise of the user. i

I 10. A device of the character described 7 comprising a shield; and means to hold the shield in position including a member at the back of the user and portions extendin around the sides and over the 'shoulderso the user, said portions being connected to said member but having play with relation thereto.

11. A shield comprising a plurality of members, adjacent members having a sliding joint including a slit, said joint being covered at the front of' the device when the latter is expanded, said joint permitting expansion and collapse of the device. t

12. A shield comprising a plurality of members, adjacent members having a sliding joint-including a slit, said joint being covered with relation to the front of the device by one of said members when the device is expanded, said joint permitting expansion and collapse of the device.

13. A shield comprising a central member; a plurality of members expandible crosswise of the device in one direction with reference to the central member; and another plurality of members expandible crosswise of the device in the oppositedirection with reference to the central member.

WILLIAM A. FRASER. 

